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Category: Direction Matters

Life/Legacy GPS

Today, I was asked to write down what I want my personal legacy to be… in one sentence.

After a few moments of reflection, here’s what I came up with: An honest, hard working, generous guy who loved the people in his life, the work he did, and the gifts he left behind.

The benefit of seeing that written out now… is that I can live it forward rather than trying to figure out what I spontaneous chose to do looking back—after the fact and when it’s all over.

Spontaneous wandering won’t lead you to your highest, most realized personal legacy. You have to envision what that looks like now and use it as your life’s GPS from here on.

Do you have a life/legacy GPS?

78 Years Young

I took a martial arts seminar today from Bill “Superfoot” Wallace.

He’s 78 years old and is still teaching two hour long martial arts seminars.

…Not to mention he demonstrated every technique at a high level (quite literally kicking people in the head), speaks with a level of enthusiasm and humor that many folks half his age would envy, and… get this… opened up into a full center split as he was warming us up.

I have never been able to do a full center split in my entire life.

This… ladies and gents… is continued proof that age is just a number.

With the right mindset and habits… we can stretch our lives much further than society leads us to believe.

Don’t believe society.

Believe in good habits. Believe in mental health. Believe in focused, daily progress.

Believe in yourself.

Goals Minus Time Commitment

If your weeks and months don’t contain pockets of time dedicated to your year and decade goals… you’re not serious about reaching them.

Think about what you want your health and fitness to be like in a year or a decade… and ask yourself, do the pockets of time inside your weeks and months match that kind of outcome?

Do the same for what you want your relationships, side hustles or finances, intellect or skill sets to be like in a year or a decade… and then take some time to reorganize this week’s or this month’s time.

Nothing contains regret more than goals minus any kind of regular time commitment.


P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

What’s New?

When you see people you haven’t seen in a long time, a commonly asked question is, “What’s new?”

And if you can’t think of a single thing to say…

It might be a sign that you’re too set in your ways.

Because while routine is excellent for getting tasks done consistently and efficiently…

If the byproduct of your routine extended out over a “long time” is nothing new…

You might not be aligned with a routine that’s leading to growth.

…What you might actually be aligned with is a rut that’s keeping you distracted and comfy.


P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

Meaning via Excited-Mixed-With-Nervous

Somebody was sharing today how they were feeling about becoming a parent via adoption.

The synopsis was excited at the prospect, but nervous at the thought of messing it up.

And what occurred to me was how great of a guide that excited/nervous mix is for uncovering meaning in life.

Excited alone isn’t as accurate because it could come from something inconsequential or that’s well within your comfort zone like playing a video game, shopping a sale, or going to bed early.

Nervous alone isn’t as accurate either because it could come from self-sabotaging thoughts or something too far outside of your comfort zone that makes you not do anything at all.

But, the things that you’re excited-mixed-with-nervous about? Those are the things that indicate you’re heading outside of your comfort zone (nervous) in a way that deep down you know you can handle (excited).

When I think about the things that have provided the most meaning for me in my life, this excited/nervous mix was almost always present.

…I think about times when I spoke publicly, taught classes, published vulnerable pieces of work, asked and went out on dates, performed in martial arts competitions, rose into new leadership positions, navigated important/tough conversation landscapes, stood up for what I believed in, started a new business venture and so on.

…Think about the most meaningful moments in your life and I bet you’ll see a similar pattern.

And if you do, remember this moving forward. Excited-only could mean well within your comfort zone. Nervous-only could mean too far outside of it. But, that excited/nervous mix could indicate that you’re on a path that’s just right and you should lean in.

Bald for Black Belt

Traditionally, in the martial arts organization I work in, students were required to shave their heads for their black belt or higher degree test.

The reason was that it demonstrated humility (that you are more than your hair) and created a military-like camaraderie between candidates.

Over the years, however, due to some candidates’ religious beliefs and otherwise strong-standing beliefs about their hair—we’ve made it optional. And have since been exploring alternative means we can offer that can build a candidate’s humility all the same. Things like no make-up or jewelry for a month, no brand name clothes for a month, no social media for a month, etc.

Not only is it good to offer alternative options for those who can’t or won’t shave their heads… but it brings into conversation those who style their hair shaved all of the time anyway… the ones who get no humility benefit from the practice at all. Furthermore, girls were never made to follow this requirement and it allows them to have alternative options for humility practice, too.

If the purpose is humility and camaraderie… then it’s something everybody should have to (get to) do with equal sacrifice. It shouldn’t be something that a few of the boys with longer hair have to do that the girls and other boys with short hair don’t have to do at all.

…Where’s the humility and camaraderie in that?

Once you understand the purpose behind the tradition… you can reverse engineer your way to more innovative means for accomplishing the same (or better) ends. It’s as the saying goes in our martial arts space: respect tradition; embrace innovation.

What Feels Alive For Me Now?

…This is a question that guides my friend Nat’s life.

Whenever he’s presented with an opportunity or comes to a fork in the road or simply notices a rise in unpleasant emotion—he sits with this question.

Because what felt alive yesterday, isn’t necessarily what’s going to feel alive today.

And what felt alive for a decade, isn’t necessarily what’s going to feel alive for the coming one.

And this is an important realization to have.

For something to feel alive, it has to feel the way it feels to look into the eyes of a baby—your baby.

Because following the natural flow of what feels alive isn’t about being flaky; it’s not just about doing things when you feel like it. It’s about honoring the evolving nature of your baby and helping your baby realize it’s full, complete potential.

…Because your baby isn’t just one task, one person, one job, one career, one dream, etc… your baby is the living embodiment of all of those things wrapped into one.

Just as your child will have ever evolving aptitudes, interests, curiosities, skills, and talents… so, too, will your life be an ever evolving portfolio of aptitudes explored, interests investigated, curiosities followed, skills built, and talents developed.

But, if you ignore the call to what feels alive… if you suppress the feelings that are telling you that something feels dead… if you keep pushing forward while refusing to check your internal compass…

Don’t be surprised when you end up somewhere that’s filled with regret.


P.s. My 30 day guide can help ensure you don’t live a life that ends with regret. Details here.